1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static semiconductor memory device incorporating redundancy memory cells.
In a semiconductor memory device, a large number of memory cells are arranged along rows and columns. The density of defects generated in such a semiconductor memory device during the manufacture thereof is relatively independent of the integration density of the device. Rather, it derives from the semiconductor manufacturing technology. In general, the higher the integration density of the device, the greater the ratio of normal memory cells to defective memory cells. This is one of the advantages of increasing the integration density of a semiconductor memory device.
Even if a device includes only one defective memory cell, however, the device cannot be operated normally and, therefore, must be scrapped. As a result, despite the lower ratio of defective memory cells, greater integration density means reduced manufacturing yield.
To overcome the problem of defective memory cells, use is made of redundancy memory cells. When a defective memory cell is detected, a redundancy memory cell row or column is selected instead of the memory cell row or column including the defective memory cell. In general, one or two redundancy memory cell rows or columns are usually provided.
A problem in the prior art, however, has been that when the defective memory cell has a direct current (DC) defect, i.e., when the defective memory cell is short-circuited, the DC defect itself is not resolved even when a redundancy memory cell row or column is selected.